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mattteo 24 Jan 19 6.31pm | |
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I don't usually like to talk about players close to or over the age of 30 because they're not long term player. I'd have talked about Robben and Ribery, but they'll never come here. However, there are some players who could absolutely rock it since the first minute in the Premier League and they wouldn't cost much. Although there is a specific Crystal Palace need for a center forward, cover on the wings is also necessary and with Voctor Moses probably costing too much/ going somewhere else, how about a look at these options: 1. Nani- 32 years Portuguese winger. You might remember him from his Manchester United days in the PL. Great player of Cape-Verdian descent, even at his age has good mobility. Played rather little in England but is still number 24 in Premier League assists of all times, with 49 assists. I strongly suggested him last summer but he was signed on a free by Sporting from Valencia. 9 goals and 6 assists for Sporting since. 2. Nico Gaitan- 30 year old Argentine, left footed. Gone to China together with Carrasco from Atletico Madrid, but to a very poor, struggling team. Carrasco is wanted back in Europe by some big clubs like Man United or Arsenal, but Gaitan could be one for Palace's level. From my understanding, the fee the Chinese paid for him was just around 5 million, so presumably they'll just want around that muchto sell him. Although he hasn't really set the Chinese league on fire, I think that if he could get back to his Benfica form since before the Atletico Madrid transfer, he would be a good addition. The fact that he is tireles and pretty much a fighter all the way is his main attribute. 3.Gervinho- 31 year old Ivorian winger. Now, before you tell me Gervinho has already been to Arsenal and was s*it, let me just tell you that he wasn't bad at all imo. In those days, the expectations of Arsenal fans were to reach the Champions League final again and Gerviinho didn't deliver. But he was better than what Arsenal has had in the last years, as with Gervinho they were in the top 3 in the PL. Then he left to AS Rome and was the best player there, scoring more than teamate Mohamed Salah 3 years ago. This says something. He went for a big paycheck in the Chinese league and came back to the Serie A this season for Parma. What is staggering is the way he moves at 31, even after a cruciate ligament injury: [Link] 4. Balazs Dzsudzsak- just turned 32 year old Hungarian winger, left footed. Was free in the summer after his big money contract in the Arab world had ended, so could have gotten him for free, but nobody seems to care. Signed another Arab contract. UAE league is a poor league, but he has 20 goals and 26 assists there and in the AFC Champions League. But this is not what's important. What's important is that he's the best player in his country in the last 50 years and has 21 goals and 22 assists in 7900 minutes for his national team and has carried that team to the European Championship quarter finals in 2016, winning agains Austria and drawinf 3-3 against Ronaldo's Portugal, where Dzsudzsak scored a brace. I assure you, it wasn't that long ago and he has also proven himself at PSV Eindhoven and Bursaspor, at that moment Turkish league winners. 5. Romain Alessandrini- 29 years old French winger, left footed. One of the fiestiest football players I have ever seen. I was very suprised when he left Marseille at the beginning of 2017 to join MLS team LA Galaxy cause Alessandrini had been one of the best wingers in France. But they offered him a grat salary. What really suprised me was that Marseille let him go for just 3 million. He stormed the MLS, was the best assister there these last 2 years. 24 goals and 21 assists in 4300 minutes. His contract ends in December 2019, so he wouldn;t cost much. 6. Carlos Bacca- Colombian center forward of 32. Cost Villarreal just 6 million in the summer even though he's a world class striker imo and AC Milan just gave in after initially wanting 15 million. Fights, runs, scores with both feet and with headers, everything. 26 goals and 9 assists in the last 2 years at AC Milan and Villarreal in just 4100 minutes. Could want a new challenge given that his playing time in Villarreal is limited and they could sell just to get their money or part of it back, cause they prefer using 20 million signings Gerard Moreno and Karl Ekambi instead of him. 7. Jackson Martinez- a beast, a Colombian center forward of 32, one of the best center forwards in all of Europe 4 years ago, bought by Atletico Madrid for 40 million after scoring 61 times in 2 seasons for FC Porto, especially in the Champions League. Only got 1000 minutes of gametime at Atletico Madrid, scoring 3 times and assisting 2 times. Left for a big salary in China where he did decently, but truth is he didn't really play. Came back to Europe this season accepting a much lower salary from Portuguese league team Portimonense. I talked about him being free in the summer and he wouldn't have been that bad considering that he scored 4 and assisted 2 in 1000 minutes. The fact that he himself says that he has a chronic pain and is forced to endure it even in his free time or sleep made me question whether to put him on the list or not. Perhaps he can't really be considered PL material anymore, but I will just leave him here for the respect he deserves even playing with such an atrocious pain. 8. Eduardo Vargas- 29 year old Chilian forward (second striker or winger). If you just look at his wikipedia page, it would seem that Eduardo Vargas was a striker who was acceptable, but nothing special in Napoli and Hoffenheim in Europe. But he was actually pretty good. He was often forced to play on the wing instead of in the center and, of course, scoring goals from the wing is more difficult, even though he did create from there. When I say Chile I think about that awesome team of the past 4-5 years, which had possession of over 50% even against adversaries like Brazil and Argentina and which won the Copa America twice in a row, in 2015 and 2016. The most important players in that Chile team were Alexis Sanchez, Eduardo Vargas, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Bravo. The other 3 got incredible contracts at nig teams in Europe and were appreciated here. Eduardo Vargas was not. Why? My opinion is that he wasn't given enough faith by the managers. Napoli maybe had Insigne, Mertens and Callejon in his position and just loaned him out to Valencia and QPR. Hoffenheim bought him and used him as a winger in the Bundeliga. 5 goals and 4 assists in 1800 minutes for Valencia in Spain, 3 goals and 2 assists for QPR in the Premier League, 2 goals and 5 assists in 1600 minutes for Hoffenheim in Germany, but what is staggering is that he was probably even better than Alexis Sanchez for the Chile national team: 35 goals and 9 assists in 5800 minutes. Bought by Tigres of Mexico for 5.5 million from Hoffenheim as they brough in some well known players in Mexico and created a very powerful league. I'd say that today the Mexican league is pretty much up there with the Portuguese league from Europe in terms of quality, so not a poor league at all. Vargas did ok for them, but was again used mostly as a winger. When played centrally he scored and assisted more. Given that in the first 3 matches of the Mexican Clausura (second part of the season), which started in January, Vargas has been an unused subsitute in one match and played 10 minutes and 17 minutes in the other 2 matches (even though he scored a goal), I think it's say to say that Tigres would accept a bid of around 4-5 million, giving them their investment back. Eduardo Vargas is a Chilian international player and I think in the last 2 years has played more than 50% of his national team's matches, that's why I think he would meet the criteria to get a card and come to the Premier League. 9. Ok, this one is the biggest stretch as the guy is 34 years old, but Mathieu Valbuena- French winger playing for Fenerbahce in Turkey. Fenerbahce is s*it this season and yet Valbuena has managed to play by himself and have 10 goals and 21 assists in 3100 minutes for them (!!). And before that, in Fance, he had 10 goals and 6 assists in 2600 minutes in his last season with Olympique Lyon, going to the Europa League semi-finals. One of the fiestiest football players I have ever seen, a real fighting machine, never relents. One fellow Romanian was coach in the Turkish league and he was telling me last season that they played against Fenerbahce and that Valbuena had these amazing runs and brakes that really confused players who couldnt't keep up with him even though were much, much younger. So he still has it. For how long, that's a question mark. But there is a type of players who are souch formidable fighters that they play until around 38 years. To me it seems that Valbuena is from that category. He is very much like Frank Ribery, only less famous. His contract with Fenerbahce ends in the summer.
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Tom-the-eagle Croydon 24 Jan 19 6.43pm | |
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Just a short one today then
"It feels much better than it ever did, much more sensitive." John Wayne Bobbit |
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mattteo 02 Feb 19 9.50pm | |
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That Gervinho though with a double againt Juve: [Link]
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cryrst The garden of England 03 Feb 19 9.04am | |
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Originally posted by Tom-the-eagle
Just a short one today then
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